Funny
by watchoutforfallingdinosaurs
Summary: Raven was glaring. At an innocent. The girl they had just succeeded in saving. Puzzled, he glanced from her, to Beast Boy, back to her, to the girl, back to her...and suddenly, everything clicked. Raven/Cyborg friendship, BBRae


Okay, so this isn't a new chapter for The Goose Girl, but I was listening to "Funny/The Duck Joke" from My Favorite Year and was suddenly hit with BBRae feels. I needed to get this story out of my system before I could continue working on The Goose Girl, and I don't think that there is ever enough Raven/Cyborg friendship in the world. This one-shot was the result! I hope you enjoy.

...and I don't own the Titans.

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Cyborg ducked to avoid another punch from the hulking figure before him. He longed to just send a good sonic blast Adonis's way, but the terrified innocent in Adonis's arms stayed his hand.

"Not surprised you punks are runnin' scared." Adonis smirked triumphantly, waggling his eyebrows at his prey. "Come on, honey, am I good or what?"

The brunette's gag muffled her speech, but her tear-streaked face spoke for her. Cyborg grimaced, trying to determine when exactly to get her out of harm's way so that he could move in and give Adonis the thrashing he deserved. He turned to Beast Boy, who could barely be tamed as it was, let alone when a young woman was in danger, and shook his head. It would not do for Beast Boy to attack just yet. Not until the girl was safe.

With Robin and Starfire tracking Mumbo on the other side of the city, Cyborg was unofficially designated as leader of Beast Boy and Raven. The cloaked teen was perched out of sight, waiting for Cyborg's signal to transport the victim to safety.

"Well, if you losers aren't going to put up a fight..." Adonis licked his lips. "Looks like this'll be boring, but I don't mind taking you down anyway. Then I've gotta have a..._chat _with my ex here."

The girl struggled more violently now, her gag barely suppressing her screams. Spotting an opening as Adonis let the bound girl down behind him, Cyborg nodded to the little bird, who vanished immediately. The instant that he saw her reappear and take the girl into her arms, Cyborg cried, "GO!"

Beast Boy didn't need to be told twice. Within seconds the boy was gone; in his place stood a growling tiger, who wasted no time in lunging toward his enemy. Cyborg almost chuckled at the smooth confidence with which Adonis turned and stepped out of Beast Boy's way, waiting for the moment that Adonis noticed that...

"WHERE'D SHE GO?!"

As much as he had to remain serious, Cyborg couldn't help but smile at Adonis's baffled expression, whirling around in search of the girl and completely forgetting that an angry tiger was on his way back to him. During Adonis's short journey to the pavement, Cyborg landed a swift uppercut on the villain's jaw, sending him reeling into the arms of a gorilla, who cracked Adonis's armor with ease and headbutted him, instantly knocking him out. Beast Boy's transformation back coincided with the reappearance of Raven, with the pretty brunette in tow, unbound and free of her gag.

"Good work, guys," Cyborg said proudly. Raven just nodded, taking her hood down and pulling out her communicator to contact the authorities, who were poised and ready just around the corner to take Adonis to prison.

"Are you alright?" Beast Boy asked, reaching for the civilian's shoulder, with a clear note of concern.

"I think so," she replied, the waver in her voice unmistakable. "I never realized he had this whole alter ego when we were dating. Looks like I was right, though."

"About what?" asked Cyborg, raising an eyebrow.

"Encasing himself in that massive armor? He _was_ compensating for something."

This got a huge laugh from Beast Boy, who probably would have gone for a high-five if it were any of the other Titans. Instead,he merely cried, "Good one! Raven, didja hear that? She's hilarious! Compensating for something!"

Pleasantly surprised at the girl's ability to crack a joke, despite the way her hands shook, Cyborg turned to Raven, only to be met with a greater surprise. Raven was _glaring. _At an _innocent. _The girl they had just succeeded in saving. Puzzled, he glanced from her, to Beast Boy, back to her, to the girl, back to her...and suddenly, everything clicked.

Cyborg had to consciously stop himself from grinning at his little sister, who was chewing her bottom lip with a unique frustration he had never seen before. So it was as he had expected. He'd have to remember to let Robin know later. Cyborg's sister Rae, all choked up over his little bro Beast Boy...wait, did that mean that he wanted his brother and sister together? Ugh. Cyborg didn't want to think about that. It made the whole situation way more awkward. _Well, awkward is kind of par for the course for Rae and BB, _Cyborg admitted silently to himself.

Before Beast Boy could needle Raven for a response any more, the sound of footsteps coming down the alleyway cut him off. Thanking the Titans for their assistance, a few policemen got hold of Adonis, while another walked the victim to a different police car, presumably to get her quickly to the hospital. The girl waved goodbye to Beast Boy, innocently, but the gesture wasn't missed by Cyborg, and if Raven's clenched fists were any indication, it also hadn't been missed by her.

Beast Boy stretched, leaning backwards and reaching as far as he could. "That was too easy. I'm still ready to go. I think I'll fly home today, Cy. Raven, you flying or taking the T-Car?"

"I'll ride with Cyborg this time."

"Oh." If Cyborg's eyes weren't deceiving him, Beast Boy's ears had drooped a little at Raven's words. "Okay! See you guys back at the tower, then." In one fluid motion, Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and set his sights on home. In a comfortable silence, Cyborg and Raven took their seats in the T-Car and started their drive, but Cyborg couldn't help glancing at his friend a little too frequently, seeing the same annoyed expression on her face each time. Raven was practically boring a hole into his dashboard; with her powers, that could become a very real possibility.

"What do you want, Cyborg?" she asked bluntly, finally, with more than a touch of exasperation.

Her tone didn't surprise him in the slightest. "I have no idea what you're talking about." His one human eye was brimming with mirth. "Just another awesome drive with my girl Rae."

Raven still hadn't even looked up. "Nice try. I'm fine."

"I didn't say you weren't fine. Why on Earth wouldn't you be fine? Adonis is nothing." Cyborg was teasing her, a little relentlessly, but he knew that with enough patience, she'd crack. She always did.

She bit her lip again. "Exactly."

The silence became oppressive, but only for one of the parties involved. _Any second now..._

"Cyborg."

The poor attempt at a casual tone was all Cyborg needed to know he had won. "Raven."

More silence, then... "Beast Boy is getting to be unbelievably immature. Stop encouraging him."

"I didn't encourage him." Cyborg suspected that she'd need a bit of a push to keep talking, so push he did. "That girl got him started."

"Her joke wasn't remotely amusing. Only a dolt would have laughed at that. Actually, never mind. It all makes perfect sense now."

Cyborg snorted. He was glad in this instant that _he _wasn't the empath in the car; the ambient jealousy in the air would proably be suffocating him. "It probably wasn't her best material. She was a little shaken up, if I recall."

"Hmph. I suppose." Sneakily, Cyborg peeked over at his little sister again. Her expression had changed, her eyes were asking a faraway question that Cyborg wasn't sure he could answer.

"Rae."

She started, and Cyborg felt momentarily guilty for jolting her. Just as quickly, Raven relaxed again, and took in a slow, deep breath. "He thought it was so funny. I've never heard him laugh like that with someone outside the Titans."

The root of the problem. He was surprised she had gotten to it so fast. Well, for Raven, anyway. "So?"

Cyborg was sure he saw a tinge of pink in Raven's face. "It's ridiculous. Him and his stupid jokes. He needs to grow up."

He sighed. _And she's backed off again. _"So he likes stupid jokes. That's how he's always been. What's got you so down about that, Rae?" Her only response was to look out the window. Cyborg was going to have to pull out the big guns. "I can teach you a few jokes, if you want."

Raven's head spun so fast that Cyborg almost anticipated that it would pop clear off her shoulders. "Why in Azar's name would I ever want to learn _jokes_?" she replied, a little too quickly to be believed.

Cyborg shrugged, putting on his best nonchalant face. "Just because. Maybe you'll like them better when you're the one telling them."

It was an obvious ruse, one of the worst Cyborg had ever come up with, but Raven didn't seem to care. She stalled for as long as possible, tapping her nails on the dash, gazing far too intently at the ocean as they sped past, huffing and rolling her eyes to make it _perfectly _clear that she was aloof and unattached to the idea, but when her big violet eyes finally looked back into his, Cyborg winked and turned his attention back to the road.

"Okay, we'll start small. A horse walks into a bar..."

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Yay! One-shot successfully removed from my brain. Hope you enjoyed it! As always, please review. More Goose Girl this Sunday!


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